


Days in the Life

by Bride_Of_The_Wild_Huntsman



Series: Firehouse Feelings [2]
Category: The Real Ghostbusters
Genre: Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Peter being adorable, Winston has horrible guilt, hurt!Peter, team as Peter's siblings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-10
Updated: 2017-02-10
Packaged: 2018-09-23 05:21:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,075
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9642443
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bride_Of_The_Wild_Huntsman/pseuds/Bride_Of_The_Wild_Huntsman
Summary: Peter gets hurt on a bust and is stuck on bedrest. The others do their very best to make him feel better.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I only own what isn't canon or trademarked.

The recreation room of the converted firehouse was alive with the sound of joyous yet exhausted laughter. The ghostbusters and their loyal secretary slumped into the comfort of their well-worn furniture. Spirits ran high as energy quickly fell. A too close bust filled them all with a need to celebrate survival.

Winston looked about the room at the people that had become his family over the years. He smiled tiredly as his gaze poured over everyone. He could see Janine fawning over Egon, keeping him readily supplied with his favorite junkfoods so he would not walk on his twisted ankle. He watched her fetch him a soda and ice pack before she went back to curling into the blond's side.

He chuckled softly, his heart going out to her. It had to hurt when Egon's only reaction to her troubles was a quick thank you before returning to his conversation with Ray. The two scientists were animatedly talking about improvements to their newest device.

He sighed softly and shook his head, taking a sip of his celebratory beer. He was not much a drinker but surviving a close call was a special enough occasion. His drifting thoughts were called back into focus as the heavy lump pressed into his own side shifted and whimpered. Winston quickly frowned and looked down at where Peter lay curled against him. The younger man was drinking soda through a straw as he groggily watched whatever movie the team had on as background noise.

The beer in Winston's stomach turned sour and rolled uneasily as his gaze was drawn to the bandage covering Peter's right eye. The kid had had a nasty run-in with some very corporal claws of a Class 7 but luckily the doctor at the hospital had been hopeful about recovery. Now the poor little guy was doped up on pain meds and refusing to let Winston out of arm's reach. This was unfortunate because the position he chose to lay in let him be near the older man but was murder on the rib Peter had cracked as well. All the pain and drug-dulled misery had come about simply because Winston had not been paying close enough attention today due to all the pesky Class 3s and 4s buzzing around during the fight.

Winston swallowed down his guilt and tried to take a calming breath. He sat up straighter but was careful not to jostle the younger man. He let out a whistle, gathering everyone's attention. They all readily looked at him, except Peter who was a little sluggish, as he raised his can.

"I call a toast. To the bravest Ghostbuster in honor of him savin' my hide!" The others smiled and raised their own drinks of various kinds, even Peter to some degree before his brain registered that the toast was about him. They all let out a cheer as Peter got red in the face and tried to hide under Winston's arm with an unusual shyness. Despite his hiding, the youngest member smiled groggily, embarrassed yet pleased with his family's praise. The cheers and happy chatter quickly picked up again.

Winston watched Peter's good eye start to droop as the meds finally got to him. He sighed softly and put his drink down as Peter started to drift off. The dark-skinned man looked away to catch Egon's gaze from across the room. The blond nodded at Winston's silent comment before talking to Ray and Janine about one subject or another.

Peter gave a sleepy whine as Winston slowly got up. The little act made the older man chuckle softly as he scooped the smaller brunet up into his arms, the younger man quickly clinging to him. He headed for the door, carrying Peter to the bunkroom. He was almost there when Janine stopped him. She smiled softly, eyes sad, as she slipped a new mystery novel into his hand before sending him on his way again.

The trip to the bunkroom was quick and unhindered. He carefully got Peter into bed and tucked him under the messy covers, glad the younger man had changed when they got home. He sat on the edge of the bed as fast as he could when Peter let out a distressed whine and called out for him in sleep. He gently helped the younger man use his leg as a pillow.

"Rest up, Pete." He grabbed Masquerade from her place hidden amongst the messy nest and slipped her into Peter's arms. Once the younger man was settled and resting easy, Winston opened the book Janine gave him. He relaxed against the bed's headboard and began to read, letting his mind wander from the guilt and pain in his heart.

_**~*~G~*~** _

"I have you now, you emerald-haired meddler! Mwahahaha!" The completely forced sounding maniacal laughter echoed through the near empty bunkroom. Janine blinked rapidly as she headed towards the room, tray of food in hand. What on earth was going on up here?

A smile quirked on her lips as she peaked inside. The scene displayed before her was adorable. Peter, who was confined to bedrest until he healed, was sitting crosslegged in a mini blanket fort atop his bed. He had Masquerade the Pony in one hand and Gozer the grim reaper plushie in the other. He was using the two to act out some sort of scene.

"You have nothing, Gozer! With Puft and La Madre at my side, I'll stop you reign of terror!" He marched Puft the Ghostbuster bear and La Madre the Raccoon up behind Masquerade.

"Foolish Pony! I have my own minion to crush yours!" He made Ray's Mr. StayPuft doll lumber out towards Masque's army, "Behold! The Tra-!" He stopped abruptly as a giggle accidentally escaped Janine, his head jerked up to stare at her in horror with his unbandaged eye. An embarrassed expression, as if he had been caught doing something horrible, appeared on his face. He quickly dropped his toys and opened his mouth to explain himself but Janine simply shook her head. She smiled gently at him and walked over to the bed with his lunch.

"I though the troops could do with some rations." She sat on the edge of the bed and placed the tray next to his leg. He blinked at her in surprise as she fixed her glasses.

"Can I play too?" She asked softly, fingers fidgeting in her lap.

"Uhhh... Sure. Thanks for lunch." He sounded oddly awkward as if fumbling over the oddness of the situation, "G-gozer's trying to take over Earth and Masque's team is trying to stop him. H-here, you can play her." Janine's eyes widened, her glasses slipping down her nose while her mouth went slack slightly, as he picked up the yellow Pony and handed it to her. Emotion bubbled up in her, she felt so honored. The twinkle-eye Pony was by far his favorite of his birthday plushies, only Winston was even allowed to touch her. Yet he was now letting her play with the treasured toy.

She smiled brightly at him and fixed her glasses again. He grinned at her around a piece of toast in his mouth as he picked up Gozer again. He used his free hand to replace the toast to the plate before starting the story again.

"Behold my creation! You will be smothered beneath him."

"Think again, Gozer!"

_**~*~G~*~** _

Years of experience should have warned Egon that this would happen. He recovered pretty quickly to be honest but it had still been a shock to have the sudden dead-weight slumped against his back as his best friend whined loudly in his ear.

"Egon, I'm booooored!" The back of Egon's head ached slightly from where Peter's forehead thunked against it. The physicist took a deep breath, glad he had not dropped his fungi journal atop of his new specimens. He was about to suggest something, anything, to appease the injured and overwhelmingly bored younger man. As luck would have it, Ray appeared and saved the day.

"Hey Pete, look what I got you!" Peter jerked up into a standing position at hearing this, he winced slightly as he jostled his ribs but ignored it to pay attention to the gift. He pulled away from the blond to wander over to his other friend. His eyes widened in surprise as Ray handed him a videotape of the first episode of My Little Pony.

"Where did you find this?" He squeaked slightly, excitement sparking in his visible eye.

"I have my connections."

"Cool! It doesn't have Masque but this is an amazing episode! Will you guys watch it with me?" There was no right way to say they weren't interested. Which, in turn meant, that they could not say no.

Later, both would say they never before knew one episode could change their views on a cartoon. Though, this one certainly did. An evil monster king, a cursed Prince, smartmouth Seaponies, and baby ponies enslaved in chains! What on earth were parents allowing their little girls to watch?!

_**~*~G~*~** _

When you lived with three other guys and were around them non-stop you picked up a few tricks to recognize them without seeing them. Winston had gotten really good at telling who was walking towards him when he was half-stuck somewhere in Ecto-1 as he fixed her up. His stomach was currently flipping at the dreaded sound of Peter's light and slightly lethargic steps, the poor kid was still doped up on pain meds even if the dose was lower now. He winced and gritted his teeth as he felt Ecto dip under Peter's added weight to her frame.

"Hey brother, how you feelin?" He tried to sound light-hearted as he asked about the younger man's health. Though, it was hard with the way his insides were turning to ice; the guilt was killing him inside.

"Pretty good today actually. My ribs don't hurt at all right now."

"Well, that's good!" Winston faked his way through looking busy in Ecto's engine to avoid looking at Peter. The bandage over his eye sent a knife through Winston's heart every time he saw it.

"Hey, Zed... ...Did I do something wrong?"

"What?!" Winston's answer-turned-question was exclaimed in disbelief as his head jerked up. He swore softly as he slammed into Ecto's open hood with the momentum. He hissed and rubbed the aching spot, "What on earth are ya talking about, Pete? You haven't done anything wrong."

"Well, just feels like you've been avoiding me since that night after my last bust." Winston winced at the explanation. More guilt piled on as he looked his friend over. The kid was wearing a baseball cap to hide the bandage and the horrid state it left his bangs in. The rim of said cap was currently obscuring Peter's face as the young man stared down at where he was fidgeting with one of Winston's socket wrenches. Winston could only sigh, reaching out and gently taking away the greasy tool.

"Okay, I'll admit it, I have been avoiding you. But, it's not your fault." Peter raised his head at this to look at Winston with hurt and confusion, waiting for the older man to finish, "I've been feeling guilty, Pete. If I had been paying more attention, you never would have gotten hurt. It's my fault you've been laid up for the last several weeks." He was surprised to see something sparkle in Peter's eye at the comment.

"You can't blame yourself for something like that, Winston. Who knows, I could have fallen through the floor, again, and landed on something sharp. That place was just askin' to collapse. It was a death trap!" Peter was grinning by now, happy he had not upset the older man, "Oh, or that crazy Class 7 could have tried to talk me to death like the last one tried to!" Winston chuckled and shook his head. The guilt started to recede as his heart felt lighter at Peter's personal brand of forgiveness. He watched the younger man give a controlled laugh so not to hurt himself. The kid was going to be just fine and was already well on his way.

"Go get dressed and I'll drive you to your doctor's appointment, ya little smartmouth." Winston smirked and playfully pulled the rim of the cap down to Peter's nose as the younger man laughed louder. The silent tear in their bond quickly mending itself.

**Author's Note:**

> These drabbles are way too much fun to write. So many different relationship aspects to work with. I'm trying to work on my Winston interactions. He and Peter will have stories that are more fun later. Sadly, I am still not confident in writing Winston at all. Will I ever be good enough for you, Winston!? *collapses against computer desk and sobs*
> 
> I'm not sure which I enjoyed writing more, the first one with Winston or the one with Janine and the toys. Isn't Janine such a sweet big sister when she and Peter aren't driving each other up a wall?!
> 
> Also, I feel bad about hurting Peter like this but I needed a non-illness excuse for Peter to stay in bed and for poor Winston to feel like dirt. Also, Peter's limbs are too important to be messing with potential long-lasting damage or weakening, which a broken bone'll do, so that was out.
> 
> Peter's bored interaction with Egon was based off an adorable sketch that tdotbabs on DA was nice enough to share with me.
> 
> Note: That really is how the first episodes (it was a two parter) of the 80's MLP went. It was disturbingly scary.


End file.
